Eurovision tried to hide Jerusalem as capital of Israel

Instruction given to presenters to hide J'lem's status as Israel's capital, but Israeli winner made sure to declare, 'Next time in J'lem.'

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Shimon Cohen, 13/05/18 09:13

Netta Barzilai

Reuters

Seconds after Israel's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, television personality Erez Tal, who was among the announcers on behalf of Kan 11, revealed that the organizers of the Eurovision event had tried to conceal Jerusalem’s status as the capital of Israel, but the move proved unsuccessful, mainly because of the victory and the fact that Jerusalem will host the event next year.

Tal said that many did not notice, but during the scoring stage of the competition, Eurovision presenters turned to the scoring stations of each country, addressing them as broadcasters from the capital of their respective countries, but made sure not to note Jerusalem as the capital from which Israel’s vote tally was broadcast.

According to Tal, this was not done accidentally, but in accordance with the instructions given by the organizers of the event. The goal of the directive was to hide Jerusalem as the capital of Israel but, as Tal said, now all those who try to hide Jerusalem will have to deal with the fact that Jerusalem is the city where the Eurovision Song Contest will take place next year - likewise, when Netta Barzilai won, she made a short speech in which she thanked voters but immediately declared, “I love my country. Next time in Jerusalem!"

Israel's Netta Barzilai won the Eurovision final in Lisbon, Portugal, on Saturday night, for her song “Toy.”

"I'm so happy - thank you so much," said an emotional Barzilai when she took the stage after her win. "Thank you so much for choosing difference, thank you so much for accepting differences between us... I love my country, next time in Jerusalem!"

Israel has not won Eurovision since 1998, with pop star Dana International’s “Diva.” It won twice in a row in 1978 and 1979 for “A-Ba-Ni-Bi” and then “Hallelujah.”